Disclaimer – Kishimoto owns Naruto and the characters therein.

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Memories Of Others

Chapter 34

Discussions And Decisions

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"Sensei…" Sakura began and Kakashi gave her a quizzical look as he pocketed his book. "About yesterday…"

"It's safe to talk about it." Kakashi said, motioning for the other two genin to join him at the three stumps. "The law says that one who knows about Naruto's burden may not speak of it to anyone who doesn't know. What did you want to know? I thought he covered it pretty well yesterday…"

Sakura looked slightly embarrassed, but plunged ahead. "After we had the Bell Test… I overheard someone say that it was Naruto you asked for… was it because of his father?"

"It was." Kakashi confirmed. "I thought that by being around him, I could try to make up for not being there when he was younger, but… he really looks like Sensei, but he thinks almost like Kushina did…"

"So you'd have been happy to train him instead?" Tobio asked as he rubbed at the bandages on his neck and Kakashi hmmmm'd in thought.

"I'm not sure I'd have taught him well." He finally admitted. "I only really looked at what I had become because he chose to walk away. If I hadn't done that… I'm not sure how much of a teacher I'd have been."

"All of the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi have been from the Uzumaki clan." Sasuke stated and Kakashi nodded.

"The Uzumaki clan were renowned for their longevity, endurance, fuuinjutsu skills and their powerful chakra reserves. Only an Uzumaki could survive having the Kyuubi sealed into them."

Sasuke nodded slowly. "I see. Naruto was the only choice."

"And he suffered because of it." Kakashi sighed. "Shunned, virtually abandoned… despised by those who couldn't tell the difference between the prison and the prisoner… I still don't know how he didn't go psychotic. Maybe a full round of tests might tell us, but I don't think Naruto'd sit still that long."

Tobio and Sasuke snorted at the thought of Naruto trying to sit through the first stage of the Chunin Exam.

"So!" Kakashi chirped, clapping his hands. "Moving on, training for the finals. Sakura, Anko's expressed an interest in taking time off her T&I duties in order to devote all of her time to your training. Since you still need help with taijutsu and battle tactics, I told her that I'd pass her offer on. If you choose to try elsewhere, I'll do my best to find you another tutor. Since Sasuke's finally managed to develop his third tomoe in his Sharingan and I have a Sharingan, I need to help him finish adjusting, but I'll make sure to check in with you at least twice a week."

Sakura nodded. "Thanks, Sensei. Tell Anko-sensei I accept."

"Tobio, you may want to do more than simply train, so I've contacted a Tokubetsu Jonin called Ebisu who's agreed to take you, Rock Lee and Hyuuga Hinata as a temporary team from tomorrow until after the finals. It'll only be for one day in three since he has quite a few other commitments he needs to attend to, but he'll also oversee your training on those days as well. For the other two days, Asuma has offered to take you under his wing alongside team ten."

"Thanks, Sensei." Tobio smiled.

"Anything for my students." Kakashi said with his standard eye-smile.

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"Good morning." Kurenai smiled to her trio of students. "Hinata, I hope you slept well."

To Kurenai's amusement, Hinata blushed bright red while both Shino and Kiba tried to conceal their own smiles.

"Shino, Kiba, congratulations on your victories." Kurenai continued. "However, this does make the month ahead a bit more complex."

All three genin were looking at her with Hinata no longer blushing.

"Kiba, Shino, since you will both need to train further in your families styles, I would suggest that we only train as a team once every three days. For each of the other two days, I will help one of you two to improve in whichever field you think you need most."

"Ano… and me…?" Hinata asked quietly.

"Since Tobio and Rock Lee didn't make it to the finals, I would like you to join them as part of a temporary team under Special Jonin Ebisu." Kurenai said with a gentle smile. "It will help you learn how to work with others, although it will only be for one day in three."

"So I have one day in three to do whatever I want?" Hinata asked and Kurenai nodded.

"Yes, you can spend it with Naruto." She half-teased, causing Hinata to blush again.

"Hey, Hinata." Kiba said, causing the girl to turn to look at him. "During one of your days off, can I spar with you? I need to get better at fighting a Jyuuken user if I'm gonna kick your cousin's ass."

"Although I believe that it shall be myself in that position, your idea has much to recommend it." Shino said, earning a growl from Kiba. "I also would appreciate the occasional spar."

"We can arrange it all once we get the schedule settled." Kurenai interjected. "Now, let's talk about yesterday and the revelation…"

"I'm cool with it." Kiba shrugged. "Naruto's still Naruto. Explains his scent, but other than that, nothing's changed."

"That position is one that I find myself aligned with." Shino said in agreement, causing Hinata to smile in gratitude at her team-mates.

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"Sensei." Ino smiled even as she continued to dip senbon in a small bottle, placing the treated senbon in a special holder.

"Sensei." Choji nodded, quickly finishing off his bag of crisps.

Shikamaru merely waved from the slight rise where he was cloud watching.

"So." Asuma said. "You've had all night to consider what you've learned yesterday. I said it before and I'll say it again, Naruto is still Naruto."

"We know." Shikamaru yawned. "We were discussing it before you came, as well as what it means for Naruto."

"He'll be a target." Ino stated, glancing up from her work. "His parents, the Kyuubi… that reminds me. Is he rich? Did he inherit the entire fortune of Uzushiogakure?"

"No, because there wasn't one." Asuma stated as he pulled out his packet of cigarettes and flicked it using a precise burst of chakra to shift one cigarette enough that it extended out of the box, easy to grab. "Kushina came here before Uzu fell. The attackers took everything that they could, but most of Uzu's treasures were destroyed."

Shikamaru frowned.

"Scrolls. Information. Techniques."

"Correct." Asuma confirmed. "The Uzumaki Clan, the leaders that Uzu officially didn't have, were masters of fuuinjutsu. The things that they could do with it was incredible. Some claim that the Uzumaki Clan's seven greatest fuuinjutsu masters were the true creators of the Seven Swords of the Mist."

"And it was their skill that caused the other villages to unite and destroy them." Shikamaru concluded.

"If their message had got through, then the Hidden Villages would now consist of Suna, Konoha and Uzu." Asuma said, his gaze fixed on something that no-one else could see. "Iwa, Kumo and Mizu united to attack Uzushiogakure in the hope of weakening Konoha ready for them to invade and destroy. However, Uzu did not go down easily.
"Jiraiya managed to piece together what happened. Uzu was betrayed. The other villages sent diplomats who were actually saboteurs. They disabled the outer defenses and killed many of the senior shinobi just as the main forces attacked.
"The villages expected a slaughter and they got one, but not how they expected. The actual records are sealed, but for each Uzu shinobi who fell, seven attackers died. Even the Uzu genin were taking on Jonin and holding their own.
"When they ran out of swords and kunai, they used stones and sticks. When they ran out of those, they used their teeth and bare hands. They never ran out of courage but in the end… they ran out of time.
"Uzu was destroyed. What the fighting didn't demolish, the trap-jutsus did. The skyscapers tumbled, the foundations cracked and the island became uninhabitable.
"And Konoha's forces arrived three days too late, just in time to see the enemy ships sail away, carrying only a tithe of the army that had assaulted the swirling tide."

The genin all stared at him.

"Did you ever wonder why Konoha won the last Shinobi war when Suna effectively sat it out and the others allied against us?" Asuma asked. "Sure, quite a bit of it was the Yondaime, but even he wouldn't have been able to turn the tide had Uzu not inflicted so many casualties on the armies that attacked it."

"And Naruto is an Uzumaki…" Shikamaru breathed. "No wonder he can be so troublesome…"

"Speaking of troublesome," Asuma interjected, "We're getting a temporary member from Team Seven."

"Sasuke!" Ino squealed and Asuma shook his head.

"Nope. Tobio."

"Makes sense." Shikamaru muttered just loud enough for the others to hear him. "Like us, he didn't make it through."

"But Sakura and Sasuke did." Asuma confirmed. "He's not going to be here every day since he's also on another part-time team, but he will be doing some of the missions with us…"

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"Good morning, my youthful students!" Maito Gai declaimed as he somersaulted into the training ground.

"Good morning, Gai-Sensei!" Lee shouted back, almost drowning out the greetings of the other two.

Gai motioned for them to approach as he sat down.

"Before we get started for the day, may I say once again how proud I am of all of you." Gai stated with none of his usual bombastic personality in evidence. "Neji, you made it through without having to reveal the depth of your skills, a fact which will help you during the finals as your opponents will not know what to expect. Tenten, your opponent will be able to match any jutsu you use and will have a perception advantage, but I believe that you can defeat him and I will gladly give both of you whatever help I can.
"Lee, it is unfortunate that you went up against a Kunoichi who was strong in the art of genjutsu. I have spoken to Tokubetsu Jonin Ebisu about that and he has promised to cover genjutsu and how to fight them in more depth than I did. I failed you, Lee, and for that I apologize."

"You did not fail me, Gai-sensei!" Lee protested. "Without your help and example, I would never have become a ninja, let alone one who has completed as many missions as I have!"

"Before this goes mushy," Tenten interjected, "What are we doing about training? I mean, Neji has his entire clan to help him…"

Neji nodded in agreement.

"…but I don't have a shinobi clan to help me learn new things."

"I will be your primary tutor, aiding you in improving your skills." Gai said. "I made a study of how to fight a user of the Sharingan when I was younger and since Uchiha Sasuke will be your first match, I will gladly teach you all that I discovered regarding it."

"Why would you do that?" Neji wondered. "Was it Itachi?"

"It was my eternal rival!" Gai corrected. "When Kakashi lost his team-mate but gained the sharingan, I began studying for the matches I would have against him."

"That… actually makes sense…" Tenten mused.

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Ibiki frowned at the sound of cackling echoing through the base. Filing away the report on the failed capture of the now-fugitive genin Iryonin Yakushi Kabuto, he rose from behind his desk and stalked out of his office, his trenchcoat flaring dramatically behind him.

It had taken a very expensive tailor to achieve that effect, but it was generally worth it.

Striding down the subterranean corridor, he came to a halt by another door and rapped once on it, causing the cackling to halt as if a switch had been thrown. A few seconds later, the door was flung open.

"Wha… oh. Hi, Ibiki. Need me for another job?"

"Actually, no." Ibiki rumbled. "However, you have piqued my curiosity."

Anko went blank for a moment. "What?"

"You were cackling." Ibiki explained. "I actually cannot remember the last time that I heard you cackling. What happened?"

"Ohhhhh, it's awesome!" Anko snickered. "Not only have I seen Kakashi without his mask, I'm about to go and get my sort-of-apprentice full-time to train up for the finals!"

Ibiki blinked, unable to decide which of the two facts were more important.

"Kakashi showed you his face?" He finally asked and Anko bounced up and down with excitement.

"Yes! Ebisu owes me a bottle of Sake! He's not bucktoothed!"